INDIA: Gold imports up 65% in June to $3.12 billion

New Delhi-India (July 16)   After declining for seven months in a row, gold imports grew by 65.13 per cent to USD 3.12 billion in June.

Imports of gold in June 2013 were USD 1.88 billion. The high imports have marginally pushed up the country's trade deficit to USD 11.76 billion in June from USD 11.28 billion in the same month last year.

 In October 2013, gold imports had risen 62.5 per cent to USD 1.3 billion.

 The government has imposed restrictions on inbound shipments of the precious metal to narrow the Current Account Deficit. India's CAD, which is the excess of foreign exchange outflows over inflows, touched a historic high of 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2012-13, mainly due to rising imports of petroleum products and gold.

 A high CAD puts pressure on the rupee, which in turn makes imports expensive and fuels inflation.

 The government had increased customs duty on gold to 10 per cent and banned import of gold coins.

Source:  TheHindu